After that day, Tokai Teio also joined the training camp.
And of course, everyone was very welcoming of her arrival.
After all—kids, right? When it comes to living together and messing around, there's basically no resistance at all.
Besides, while in some ways they were rivals, at the same time they were teammates. They trained together, ate together, played together; long ago they had already tied a pretty solid bond of friendship.
Among them, the most lively—steady yet mischievous, mischievous yet steady—Tokai Teio could get along with practically anyone. She was the core of the group, and honestly, calling her their captain wouldn't be an exaggeration.
So, about her earlier refusal: sure, the others had let out a breath of relief, since it meant one less competitor. But overall, there was still some regret.
Now though, with her here, all that was left was pure welcome.
And the reason?
Because, damn it—there are just too many people! No way to make a move at all!
Originally, before the camp began, quite a few Uma Musume had already been running all sorts of little calculations in their heads.
No, climbing all the way to home base wasn't exactly realistic. But taking advantage of this camp to close the distance with Kitahara Sota—that was totally doable.
Except when they actually got here, they realized all those little schemes were useless.
If you move just a little too cautiously, there's no way you can poke even the tiniest reaction out of that ultimate block of wood, Kitahara Sota. Instead, you put in all that effort, and the only person whose affection points went up was yourself.
If you move a little too boldly, well, it's not like the rest of the team are blind. They might not directly sabotage you, but they can always imitate you, can't they?
Sure, along the way, because of various things, plenty of situations cropped up.
The problem was—none of those situations did even a single point of damage to that block of wood. Instead, it was themselves who ate critical hit after critical hit.
If it went on like this, at this rate, they'd be dead from rebound damage before they ever managed to land a single blow on him.
And when that happened—if they slipped up and did something wrong in the heat of the moment—forget getting eliminated from the Kitahara Cup. They might even hand someone else the chance to swoop in.
So, under this many-sided balance of power, this camp—originally supposed to be a hotbed where something might happen—ended up even safer than the days before the camp started.
Once they realized that, they all tossed away those useless little schemes, and simply enjoyed the chaos of the camp in peace. Naturally, Tokai Teio's arrival was warmly welcomed.
Only… not long after joining, before she could even enjoy herself, Tokai Teio was struck by news that made her heart stop in her chest.
"Ah, by the way—Cafe's 'friend' is here too. And she seems really interested in you."
Kitahara Sota said it offhandedly.
Tokai Teio froze. Then, recalling a certain rumor, her expression slowly stiffened.
"Uh… where is that 'friend'? I haven't seen her…"
"She's right behind you."
Kitahara paused, then added:
"Oh, right. Forgot—she's a ghost. So you probably can't see her…"
The moment the words fell, Kitahara Sota's vision went dark.
Not because he fainted. No—someone, upon hearing there was a ghost right behind her, had leapt three feet into the air and latched onto his face like a facehugger, complexion deathly pale, body trembling nonstop.
Tokai Teio. She was terrified of ghosts.
And that was only the beginning.
Because this room was filled with heavyweight players, even Sunday Silence herself had been losing confidence lately—starting to wonder if she was about to ascend and become a Buddha, since she wasn't nearly as scary as she used to be.
But Tokai Teio's arrival restored her faith. Immediately, her mischievous nature flared back to life. She kept circling around Teio, and every so often reached out to touch her.
And the very next second—Kitahara Sota smacked her with a flick to the forehead.
"Behave yourself."
Sunday Silence let out a sharp tch and drifted away.
Only after that chilling presence beside her faded did Tokai Teio's body finally stop trembling. Bit by bit, she slid down from Kitahara Sota's face.
Seeing her finally pull away, Kitahara also let out a breath of relief.
Because with the state Teio had just been in—her movements, her panic—if Sunday Silence had decided to scare her a few more times, who knows what might have happened.
Afterward, once he'd calmed Teio down, Kitahara called Sunday Silence back over. He had Tokai Teio take the initiative to make contact, easing her step by step into getting used to this "friend's" presence.
"Um… Trainer-san, you can actually touch a ghost…?"
It was only after she'd gotten a little more used to it that Teio realized this problem.
Facing her question, Kitahara could only let out a rather helpless sigh, then reach out and flick Sunday Silence on the head again when she tried to spook Teio once more.
"Ah—probably just rotten luck."
Later, when it was time for Nice Nature's care session—after watching Nice Nature and Eclipse's turn—Tokai Teio wore the same curious expression as all the previous "victims."
And once her teammates noticed that curiosity in her eyes, one by one they began to grin those strange, twisted smiles, egging her on to give it a try.
…Something feels off here.
Even though she could clearly sense her teammates' smiles were weird—almost scary, even—when she thought about how this might be a chance for some close contact with Trainer-san, Tokai Teio couldn't resist. She lay down on the treatment bed.
And then…
And then there was no "then."
Even though Kitahara Sota had held back again and again, Teio's performance ended up even worse than Special Week's. Within five minutes she had already surrendered, towel stuffed into her mouth.
By around the fifteen-minute mark her consciousness was drifting, and the rest of the session she passed in a daze.
As for Oguri Cap—of course she didn't escape either. Earlier, she too had been coaxed by the others onto Kitahara's treatment bed, and then…
Same story. No "then."
The only difference was, Oguri Cap managed to endure twenty full minutes on the lowest setting before being given a towel, and she never lost consciousness.
In fact, afterward, when they pulled the towel out, they realized she had nearly eaten it. During the session, she had even tried licking the fingers Kitahara used to apply medicine—apparently wanting to taste what kind of flavor the ointment had.
But even though she lasted longer, and never blacked out, that didn't mean Oguri Cap performed better than Grass Wonder.
Because when Kitahara worked on Grass Wonder, he still hadn't figured out a general Uma Musume's tolerance level. His strength back then had been much higher than it was now.
So up to this point, Grass Wonder still firmly held first place—aside from Eclipse, who was on another level entirely.
As for Agnes Tachyon…
She chickened out.
After all, just from having her legs pressed she had already reacted like that—if she went for a full-body treatment, she'd probably ascend on the spot.
But she did declare: as long as she drank that medicine, then no matter how he pressed, it would be fine.
Of course Kitahara Sota wasn't about to agree to that.
Because if she'd already been like that after the medicine with just leg work—if he gave her a full session, she'd probably pin him to the floor and ride him into the ground.
And so, under these circumstances, Tokai Teio joined the camp life fully, throwing herself into the fun of playing with everyone else.
As for Trainer-san?
Same as before: unless they all reached an agreement and ganged up to take him down together, none of the rest should even dream of it.
Outside of Teio's side, Tamamo Cross's work plan was also going smoothly.
The moment Kitahara finished explaining Tamamo's situation, the elder Uma Musume's eyes lit up.
Obedient, sensible, capable with her hands—those things were all well and good.
But what really struck her was: normal.
That attribute was exactly what the elder Uma Musume liked most.
Not because she couldn't stand Tracen's usual ways. No—because she really wanted to see how such a normal girl would be twisted into abnormality under Kitahara Sota's hands.
In the past, she might not have been so confident.
But ever since Agnes Digital had fallen, her faith in Kitahara's matatabi powers had skyrocketed.
In fact—forget Tamamo Cross—she even suspected that if she weren't already old, if she had run into him in her younger days, she too might have been caught.
And after seeing Tamamo in person, her eyes shone even brighter.
Old folks, you know.
No matter how nasty a personality they had in youth, once they aged, they usually couldn't help but like children.
Especially since Tamamo Cross, beyond her outward appearance, carried a maturity and sensibility that didn't match her looks. Bright, cheerful, reliable—no wonder she immediately won the elder Uma Musume's favor.
So by the second day after Kitahara brought her over, Tamamo Cross had already become the elder Uma Musume's assistant, helping with work.
As for pay—the elder just said it would depend on her performance, no exact number given.
And because Tamamo had been introduced by Kitahara, she trusted the elder without hesitation. She agreed straightaway, raising the already good impression she left even further.
Afterward, Kitahara and Tamamo's interactions didn't end either.
In this hellhole of a place, stumbling across someone normal was a rare gift. Both of them treasured this bond.
At the elder Uma Musume's shop, or when they bumped into each other during free time, they would meet up, vent together, making sure their hearts weren't assimilated by this cursed place called Tracen.
As for Super Creek—Kitahara had thought, after that match, the two of them wouldn't have any further ties.
But instead of being discouraged by her loss, she actually grew even more interested in him. She often came looking to exchange methods of taking care of people.
And during those contacts, Super Creek slowly realized something she had overlooked before.
That was—while Kitahara Sota was very skilled at taking care of others… it seemed he wasn't very good at taking care of himself.
Of course, since he wasn't her own trainer, even though this realization stirred up certain impulses in her heart, Super Creek didn't show it. She continued to interact with him in her usual, normal way.
So, because all sides—for their own reasons—couldn't take any action, Kitahara Sota's peaceful life continued on.
And time, within that peace, flowed steadily by.
Until the appointed day arrived.